St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1887-06-23
A Famine fn Southern Asia Minor-An
Urgent AnnenI for Aid.

A Famine FIN Southern Asia Minor-An
Urgent Appeal for Aid.
The officers of the American Board
of Foreign Missions have received It'd
ings of famine now prevailing on the
Cilicia Plain in Asia Minor, region
about one-half as large as the state of
Massachusetts,, bordering on the Med
iterranean sea, and embracing the an
cient cities of Tarsus and AdaDa. The
state of affairs is so deplOrable as to
render an appeal to the benevolent
public an immediate duty. The har-
vest time has just passed, but not
sheaf of grain will be cut in all the
plain, ordinarily SO fertile, save in a few
fields artificially watered. The city of
Adana is in the centre of this region,
and from this place Rev. G. f. Mont
gOmery wrote, May and 6, of Sc
we're winter, with much suffering, dur
ing which the people had lived on in
the hope of better times at hand, but
he adds:
'ENOw the spring has come, and the
heaven is as iron and the earth as
brass. -..There is no grass for the cat
tie, no harvest of the winter-sOwn
grain, and no sowing for the usual
summer crops absolutely no Oppor-
tunity to earn single plaster of mon
! ey. The little oil in the bottom of the
cruise and the handful of meal in the
barrel is fast wasting away, and there
lis yet at least twelve months before
there can possibly be any work or
another opportunity for harvest.
Already most of the farming
villages in the vicinity are quite de-
serted. The people had hoped to save
their vineyards, but now leaves that
are just beginning to come out are
turning yellow and vines are begin
ming to dry up, and will be ruined.
Numbers of people are trying to sell
copper vessels, beds, furniture, cows
and oxen on the street at One-fOurth of
their worth. Cows are being sold at
the ridiculous price of thirty piasters
each, about dollar and "A quarter"
A committee appointed at Adana to
present an appeal to benevolent peO-
. pie in America have sent the following |
statement, which is vOuched for as |
correct by American missionaries in
Turkey:
ga square section of our most fertile
plain, 1900 square miles in extent, ex-
tending Mersine on the west six
s ty miles from to Missis on the east and |
sixty miles from north to south, is
stripped of it's glory and beauty and
remains sad desert. A part of our
vineyards did not begin to put forth
their new branches, and those that did |
SO are already beginning to wither.
The yearly exports from these fields
| during the last few years in cotton,
sesame, oats and millet has been $780,
600 T., about three and One-half mill
lion dollars, and the wheat and barley |
produced has been worth even more.
This year also, because there is no
grass, the fiocks and herds are mostly |
destroyed. Butter, cheese and milk
are with difficulty found. From these
statements you will understand some
thing of the calamity which is upon us.
This section Of country contains over
l00, 600 inhabitants, of whom 20, 900 are
able to find a living without help.
But $4,000 are destitute and cannot be
kept from starvation unless help is |
brought to- them from without. Many |
of them have lived until now only by |
selling their furniture, in some cases
even to the beds from under them.
Three days ago | came across a lit
tie girl, twelve years old, trying to
sell a small glass hand lamp on the
street for one plaster that she might
buy bread, as she said they had nOth-
ing to eat ut home and after this
nothing LETT to sell. The sad sights
we are compelled every day to wit
ness cannot he described with the pen.
All eyes are full of weeping and the
air is full of Lamentations. Unless the
benevolent of America and England
have mercy and reach ont their pitying
hands toward our country with gener
Gus help this large number of poor
people must perish from starvation.
For our part we think it sufficient to
put this sad matter before you and
implOre your pity and aid.
(Signed) KEOORK MICHAELYAN."
Will not the benevolent people in
the United States respond quickly and
generously to this appeal for aid 7
Contributions, especially designated
for this purpose, will be received and
forwarded Immediately by LangdOu S.
Ward, Treasurer of the American
board of Commissioners for Foreign
Missions, No. l Somerset street, BOs-
ton, Mass.